Cool Change revelling in the heavy conditions. Photo: Submitted. Enticer reefed down in heavy offshore winds. Photo: Supplied. HEAVY-weather sailing can generate fear, weaken resolve and lead to rash decisions. With offshore wind gusts topping out at close to 28 knots (officially ‘Near Gale’ rating), the crews competing in last Sunday’s Port Macquarie Yacht Club […]
Natalie West, Mandy McKinnon and Greg Gleeson tasted success at the Oztag Interstate Series. Photo: Supplied by Natalie West.
THE Port Macquarie Hastings region was well-represented in Miami on the Gold Coast this month at the Oztag Interstate Series. A direct State of Origin clash, 56 teams competed at the event, with the 28 playing divisions featuring two teams – one each from NSW/ACT and Queensland. Local representatives included captain Mandy McKinnon and Natalie […]
Frank O'Rourke, who won the Arrow catamaran race on 'Zero'. Photo: Submitted.
LAST Sunday, the Port Macquarie Sailing Club faced a strong run-out tide, grey skies and a predicted southerly front, which may have discouraged a few members from taking part in the first Handicap Start race of the 2026 Spring season. With just five competitors present, a regular Spring Series race was held instead. The duty […]
THE National Rugby League will honour retired South Sydney player Jai Arrow as part of the grand final pre-match entertainment, featuring the song “You’ll Never Walk Alone” as he completes a lap of the field. A week after stating the NRL showpiece at Accor Stadium on Sunday night didn’t need a headline act following a […]
THE Hunter Region is gripped by grand final fever with the Newcastle Knights rugby league team on the cusp of a fairytale premiership in the National Rugby League. In one of their bravest performances on record, the stout-hearted Knights upset the Penrith Panthers 22-14 in a classic preliminary final last Sunday at Accor Stadium to […]
2Excess passing Enticer after the start. Photo: B Dworak. Ninja closing on Cool Change. Photo: B Dworak. Tribal Wave passing Galene. Photo: B Dworak. ALTHOUGH often attributed to others, it was Oscar Wilde who first observed that “Moderation is a fatal thing. Nothing succeeds like excess”. There have been numerous adoptions of that principle, ranging […]
Rob Barwick in ‘Drift’, which won both races in the monohull division. Photo: PMSC.
PORT Macquarie Sailing Club held its first double-header last Sunday, with the second race of the Spring Series in the morning, followed by a barbecue lunch and the first Club Championship race in the afternoon. The forecast was for a light easterly about 11am, but its late arrival delayed the start by 17 minutes. The […]
KALYN Ponga has declared there are more chapters to write in Newcastle’s revival story as the 2025 wooden spooners aim to upset Penrith to make the grand final. After Sunday’s drama-charged 12-10 win over the Warriors in Auckland, Newcastle’s Cinderella finals run will extend into another week with Justin Holbrook’s set to face Penrith in […]
The 2026 Fish Reflections competition is on this weekend. Photo: Supplied by Kate Shelton.
Friday, 25 September Cricket CurryFest Woolgoolga Tri-Nations Cricket Cup at the Wiigulga Sports Complex. Australia vs India – 6pm. Saturday, 26 September Basketball Sunshine Basketball Conference season. Valley Braves vs Tweed Valley Volcanoes at the Wiigulga Sports Complex. Division 2 Men’s – 1pm. Women’s – 3pm. Division 1 Men’s – 5pm. Cricket CurryFest Woolgoolga Tri-Nations […]
Yachts in light airs immediately post start. Post-race celebration aboard Ninja. MOST sailors would have described the wind as fickle, capricious, or changeable. The more cynical have described it as being constantly faithful only to bad habits. So it was on the Hastings River when seven yachts faced the starter on the Port Macquarie Yacht […]
